Nintendo Switch Passes Wii U Lifetime Sales in Japan

Nintendo Switch has just reached a new milestone, at least for the Japanese gaming market: in just nine months it has sold over 3.3 million consoles, effectively managing to exceed the total sales that Wii U has collected in 5 years of commercialization.

[FallenAngel1984]

Dramatic turnaround

[indysurfn]

Yeah no wonder they were keeping quiet before launch. Not telling specs or if it was handheld or console. For six months ALL I HEARD was people complaining about Nintendo being stupid for not announcing anything until right before launch. For being arrogant.

People mocking them because they said they didn't want competition to steal/copy their idea. OPS! Guess they knew what they was doing. This was a idea worth keeping quite until 3 months before launch.

When you look at it objectively. two of Nintendo's last three consoles have been BIG sellers (going with predictions SWITCH will reach 100 million lifetime sales). Nintendo is not dumb. They do a good job especially considering they are ALWAYS changing the formula.

[Gemmol]

3.3 million sold in 9 months is crazy.......and whats even more crazy is that people are still lining up to get a switch in japan.......when will the lines end.........

[Lime123]

I don't see people lining up to get a switch outside Japan

[Gemmol]

come to new york

[Lime123]

Is that why Switch ended in last place in November NPD - the most important month of the year?

[eagle21]

Well that sure was fast. And by February 1st, I expect Switch to surpass Wii U lifetime worldwide if not sooner. Epic turnaround for Nintendo. There are still Nintendo Switch sellouts in Japan especially before the holiday months. This will be one of the best selling systems in Japan history.

[Protagonist]

Wii U was a massive failure! Crazed nintendo fanboys was constantly hyping it but they do that with everything nintendo throws at them LOL...

[Neonridr]

Still plenty of awesome games on the system though. Nobody is immune from failure, look at the Vita for Sony or Kinect for Xbox.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

My Wii U library has basically doubled this year from all the games I missed out on before. Sucks that it wasn't well received overall, it was a great system.

Speaking of Kinect, it's all the way down to $15 at GameStop (pre-owned). The Playstation Move was down to $5 or less before VR saved it.

[Prince_TFK]

It takes experiments to see what’s fail and what’s success. Big companies do that all the time. But I doubt people like “Protagonist” are progressive enough so understand that kind of thinking.

[AuraAbjure]

@Sgt_Slaughter What Wii U games did you miss out on Sgt?

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Star Fox Zero, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Super Luigi U, Xenoblade Chronicles X, NFS: Most Wanted, Wonderful 101, Ninja Gaiden 3 etc., to name a few. Some are multiplats I know but were way cheaper than their counterparts.

[Neonridr]

Wow.. Switch is burning it up in Japan. That being said the Wii U was never extremely popular to begin with. We will still see the Switch surpass the Wii U globally before it turns 1 year old.

[LOGICWINS]

That can only mean that most Japanese devs will align themselves with Nintendo going forward. Power has never been the general focus of Japanese devs. It's about innovation/creativity.

The Switch is the ideal middle ground. Powerful enough to run AAA experience but not so powerful that It's too expensive to produce games for.

[Neonridr]

agreed, and since the Switch can act as a portable, plenty of 3DS developers are itching to get on board with it too.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

"Powerful enough to run AAA experience"
Barely

[NotAfanBoyy]

Nintendo Switch Passes Even Numbered Wii U Lifetime Sales Worldwide
Nintendo Switch Passes Odd Numbered Wii U Lifetime Sales Worldwide

[LOGICWINS]

WOW...it hasn't even been out a year! Incredible! O.O

[ninsigma]

It'll surpass global wii u sales soon enough. It's a far more popular machine than its predecessor.

[Gemmol]

I remember on here how people said it had no chance to do well, now they say its a handheld of course it will do well

Just go back to December post from last year or even some January post, and you would see how they had so much to say, bringing up 3ds sales vs ds sales as a reason it won't do well to all types of things, but now everyone response change

There are a few still fighting that the switch is not good, but not as much as last year, everyone who played one or own one change their perception on the system now they ps4 & switch owners, or Xbox and switch owners

We even have edmix change his tactics to troll Nintendo article only calling the system a handheld......his earlier tactics was being on each article saying how switch won't get this or that game........but with more switch sales and more games announced for switch and switch taking Japan like it had no competition he can only use handheld term to try to troll Nintendo accounts.........other people beside him try to use downgrades but we all love how room, rocket league, la noir and NBA 2k18 play on the switch, and if this the downgrades we get, then the system have a bright future

So since everyone running out of ways to troll, only thing they can do is hide in the background and wait for sales to become bad, then bring back up the things like downgrade and etc and nintendoom

Or they can join us switch gamers online and have a good time, i don't take it easy on no one

[Prince_TFK]

Edmix...? Lmao. That guy is delusional. I wouldn’t take anything he say regarding Nintendo serious. And what you had said is spot on. Right now they are just hibernating and waiting for bad sale (which will eventually come during low season, happen to every consoles) and proclaim that the Switch is dead.

Lmao sometimes it is so funny in here.

[Lime123]

Exactly. Switch is living proof that a console can have the least powerful hardware, the worst third-party support, the worst online service and still sell great.

[Prince_TFK]

Damn. What an accomplishment. Well deserved I might add.

And to think that N4G said the Switch would flop so hard when it was announced. Well N4G, you’re wrong again.

[xPaYDaYx]

Didn't see this coming

Said no one ever